Standard 10-31-2012

Happy Halloween!  I hope your bags are loaded with candy and your insides are filled with hot cocoa.  If you braved the weather to trick-or-treat,  you're undoubtedly a bit chilled at this point.

But let's get to the point of this blog: your book group presentations.  We have our volunteer groups lined up for tomorrow.  Period three will hear a bit on Speak and period four will hear from one of the Someone Like You groups. We will be analyzing how well they present their information and discussing ways they can improve.  We will all benefit from this.  After they present, I will offer time to the groups to practice and prepare for Friday, our first day of presentations.   Here's a glance at the rubric so that you are sure what you need to do.

An A presentation will:

have everyone equally involved for each question

be presented in a smooth, planned, organized fashion with no repetition

offer intelligent discussion that is thorough, clear, and supported

increase our awareness of and interest in the book

be passionately presented

not give away key details or the ending (fiction books only)

not involve winging it except spontaneous positive additions

A B presentation will:

have almost everyone equally involved

be pretty well planned out and presented in a mostly smooth, organized fashion

offer good discussion that’s fairly thorough, mostly clear, and usually supported

inform us about the book

be presented with some enthusiasm

keep most of the key details and the ending vague

not involve any winging it

A C presentation will:

have an emphasis on two or three group members

have an inconsistent plan and a rocky presentation

offer discussion that is at times surface-oriented, muddled, and unsupported

generate more questions than answers about the book

lack anything beyond blips of passion and enthusiasm

give away a couple key points to the story

exhibit some winging it; should have done more specific preparation

A D presentation will:

mostly be conducted by one group member

have no clear plan of production and too many stops, pauses, and 

I-don’t-know-what-to-do-next moments

offer vague, simplistic, unsupported  discussion

give us no idea what the book is about and convince us that you 

didn’t read the book (and we shouldn’t either)

not even have the blips of passion and enthusiasm

tell us what you shouldn’t have told us about what happened in the story/ending

be almost completely made up on the spot

You received your papers back today and typed up your reflections.  We'll staple those to the papers tomorrow, and you can then file them in your folders.  If you decide to rewrite your paper, make an appointment to come and see me.  Be prepared to tell me what you will do to improve the paper.  Don't come see me unless you have ideas written down.  See me no later than next Wednesday.  The grade will be recorded on the first quarter report card.

Enjoy the evening.  Don't eat too much candy.  See you tomorrow.

Enriched 10-31-2012

I'm sure that as I write this many of you are outside freezing, begging for candy on this annual celebration of All Hallows' Eve.  I am toasty warm and dreaming of the amazing presentations we will soon be witnessing in class.  Let's talk a bit about those.  You will have time in class tomorrow to put some finishing touches on them.  Unfortunately, the mobile computer lab is leaving us a day earlier than initially anticipated.  While we won't have access to those laptops, please feel free to bring any of your electronic devices (with your parents' permission, of course) that you think might help you prepare for your group's presentation.  Our goal will be to start the presentations on Friday.  While the work I saw period one engaging in on Tuesday was inspiring, certain groups in periods five and six had me a bit nervous.  As usual, I'm expecting high quality, insightful work that leads to strong presentations.  Here is another look at the assessment sheet just to drive home my point.

Book Group Presentation Assessment Rubric

Group Members________________________________________________________________________________

Book Title_____________________________________________________________________________________

Method of Presentation__________________________________________________________________________

An A presentation will:

intelligently discuss the ways the author used fantasy to comment on humanity/society

offer multiple examples from the text to support the claims of the group

creatively present the information being shared in a polished format

passionately and enthusiastically share the information to heighten our interest

demonstrate careful planning and thoughtful organization 

be presented equally by each member of the group

A B presentation will:

discuss the ways the author used fantasy to comment on humanity/society

offer some examples from the text to help support the claims of the group

present the information being shared with some creativity and polish

heighten our interest in the information being shared with some passion and enthusiasm

display signs of some careful planning and thoughtful organization

incorporate each group member significantly, but not equally, in the presentation

A C presentation will:

hint or suggest at ways the author used fantasy to comment on humanity/society

offer an example or two from the text that might be used to support the claims of the group

present the information being shared with more silliness than creativity; more abrasion than polish

generate some interest in the information being shared with blips of passion and enthusiasm

be aided by more careful planning and thoughtful organization

have a discernible difference in the ways group members participate

A D presentation will:

fall short of clearly sharing ways the author used fantasy to comment on humanity/society  

not be able to support the claims of the group with valid textual evidence

lose the purpose of the information being shared in silliness 

lack any attempt at passion or enthusiasm 

have forgotten to plan or organize 

have an obvious difference in the ways group members participate

Score ___________

        40 

Read that A presentation carefully.

We did some good work with "Harrison Bergeron" and Kurt Vonnegut today, but didn't complete our discussion.  Our emphasis tomorrow will be on the presentations; however, if time permits, we will return to KV and "HB".  A few items to consider:

What is Vonnegut's stand on equality?  Should communism be a focus of our discussions?
What is his stand on the power of the government?  Too much?  Too little?  Just right?
What are his views on the power of the people?
Why is the death of Harrison Bergeron interpreted differently than the deaths of Prince Prospero and T. Sean's client?
Can you explain how the piece is satirical?

I also want you to start considering the role irony plays in the story.  Plenty there.

I tell you, the story is loaded.  It's too bad that our discussion has been so disjointed due to testing, days off, and other activities.  Don't worry, while we won't abandon "Harrison", we'll get into some new material next week.

Enjoy the evening.  Don't eat too much candy.  See you tomorrow.

Standard 10-30-2012

What a great day!  Of course, what else would you call a day where you get to take an Acuity test (aside from the norm)?  Anyway, with the pretest for quarter two under our belts (see that agreement?), we'll soon have a good idea where we need to focus our attentions this quarter.  I'll keep you posted.

Speaking of posted, I posted the 2nd quarter critical common core standards today.  Many of the standards from the first quarter remain but a close look at the top of the will reveal a stronger emphasis on informational texts.  Get ready for some non-fiction.

For now, though, we'll be finishing up our fiction work with our book talks.  You will see a practice talk tomorrow--at least one question's worth--and then have a chance to sharpen your presentation skills as well.  You see, we'll discuss it thoroughly, breaking down what worked well and what didn't really pan out.  That way there will be no surprises when you present yourself.  The assessment rubric you'll receive tomorrow should help with the expectations as well.  Will your group be the one to volunteer?  You'll be helping yourself and the rest of the class.  See me if you are interested.  First come, first serve.

I'll also pass back the papers tomorrow.  We'll share some of the better ones, so that you understand what generated a successful piece.  After our discussion, you'll be asked to type a reflection on the writing.  One good paragraph on each of the following prompts.

What did you do well in this piece of writing?  Be specific.
What do you need to work on in this piece of writing?  Be specific.
What are you going to do differently next time to be sure you are as successful as you could be?  Be specific.

With our computers handy, we might be able to type those reflections in class and print them off as well.  We'll see.

I'm going to cut and paste something from the enriched blog because I want to share it with you as well.  I started reading this great book over the weekend called The Twelve.  Well, here's what I wrote for the enriched blog...  

One final thing that I'm going to use as my excuse for not blogging over the weekend. I received a book on Friday night that I used every non-spoken-for minute reading.  It's called The Twelve by Justin Cronin.    It's the long-awaited sequel to Cronin's world wide bestseller The Passage, a book that will have you leaving the lights on at night.  The setting is a post-apocalyptic world that has been overun by vampire like creatures called virals that were created by a governmental biological weapons experiment gone very wrong.  These virals are mean, vicious, blood-thirsty creatures who move in pods at amazing speeds.  They attack humans hard.  They attack humans fast.  They leave behind a horrific mess.  The heart of the book takes place about 100 years after the disaster started to take hold.  There are several heroes, mostly out of necessity, since Cronin has few qualms about killing off characters he has spent time fleshing out.  Cronin does a fantastic job of making us care about each character--even the less virtuous ones.  I loved the first book, and the sequel has picked up right where the original left off.  This is a trilogy and I can tell I'll be waiting impatiently for the third book due out in 2014.

Here's a link to the text.  Watch the video, short but engaging.

If you're interested in finding out more, just ask me or do some digging on that link above.  Archer card signatures if you tell me the last line in the short video.

See you tomorrow.

Enriched 10-30-2012

After a long, relaxing weekend, it was great to come back to school for a little Acuity testing.  Okay, maybe not, but the Acuity pretest is an important step in understanding where we will be placing our focus for the second quarter.  We'll get the results soon and start shaping the curriculum.

 Tomorrow we will be discussing the author's perspective of "Harrison Bergeron".  Two questions I want you to consider are listed below.

What is Vonnegut's purpose for writing this story?
Based on this story, what do you believe Vonnegut's views are?

These questions will help us uncover theme and motivation while potentially generating some insight into Kurt Vonnegut and the story itself.  Be prepared to discuss, defend, and debate.

Since we have those computers in the class for at least one more day, we'll also spend some time prepping for our book group presentations.  I hope to start those on Thursday--yes, two days from now.  Better be working on those at home as well as in the class.  I'll give you a rubric tomorrow to clarify the assessment expectations.

One final thing that I'm going to use as my excuse for not blogging over the weekend. I received a book on Friday night that I used every non-spoken-for minute reading.  It's called The Twelve by Justin Cronin.    It's the long-awaited sequel to Cronin's world wide bestseller The Passage, a book that will have you leaving the lights on at night.  The setting is a post-apocalyptic world that has been overun by vampire like creatures called virals that were created by a governmental biological weapons experiment gone very wrong.  These virals are mean, vicious, blood-thirsty creatures who move in pods at amazing speeds.  They attack humans hard.  They attack humans fast.  They leave behind a horrific mess.  The heart of the book takes place about 100 years after the disaster started to take hold.  There are several heroes, mostly out of necessity, since Cronin has few qualms about killing off characters he has spent time fleshing out.  Cronin does a fantastic job of making us care about each character--even the less virtuous ones.  I loved the first book, and the sequel has picked up right where the original left off.  This is a trilogy and I can tell I'll be waiting impatiently for the third book due out in 2014.

Here's a link to the text.  Watch the video, short but engaging.

Now, I don't want you to think that all I read are violent, blood-filled books ("The Masque of the Red Death"; World War Z; The Passage; The Twelve).  You'll actually be reading quite the variety as we move forward.  But if you have time (The Passage = 800+ pages; The Twelve = 550+ pages) you could do a lot worse than these two end of the world books that make the "ordinary world disappear" (Stephen King).  Archer card signatures if you tell me the last line in the video on the link.

Standard 10-24-2012

I'm Back!  Stop it!  Settle down.  I'm excited too, but please, you're embarrassing me.  Had a good time meeting the parents--you guys don't know how lucky you are to have parents who care so much.  Be sure to thank them for coming, and, what the heck, tell them that you love them, too.

We did it.  We turned in our paper today.  I'm sure part of each of you is excited to be through with it, but I'm sure the other part is going to be nervous for the next few days too.  I'll have them back to you by Tuesday.  That's the day my grades are due, so it can't be after that.  I'm going to start assessing them once I've finished this blog.  I can't wait to see what you've produced.

We got a good start on our book group presentations.  10 things is a lot to know, but if you've been reading and preparing as you should have been over the last three weeks, then you should feel pretty confident with the task.  We'll be tackling that work some more tomorrow.  Hopefully, we'll be making our first presentations next Tuesday.

Agreement errors have also been taking up a bit of our time.  I've been using the sentences from the enriched classes, but now that I have these papers from you, I might be able to use some of your own sentences...unless you've figured out how to avoid the agreement errors in your tenses, genders and numbers.  A bonus piece of information has been our pronoun talk.  Singular, plural, subjective, objective, possessive, etc.  If we know what pronouns are, and if we understand what their jobs are, then we should have an easier time of avoiding those errors in the future.

Have a good night's sleep.  And write down the agreement error in paragraph two for an Archer card signature.

Enriched 10-24-2012

The blog is back!  Ah, it feels good too.  It was great meeting all the parents and celebrating the progress being made, but now that they are over, I'm free to enlighten you with some LA blog wisdom.

First, let's give a language arts Hoorah! to the sages today.  Peter Rutkowski, Isabella Gianesi, Topher Peck, Conrad Adams, Allie Mason, Nuha Zackariya, and Grant Brenner all shared their C.A.P. papers in class as their peers circled around them.  While listening, the students took notes on the papers' strengths.  Several similar themes kept coming up: an abundance of detail on the individual selected; thorough development of the authors views; strong explanations offered on how the authors and the individual selected connect; smooth transitions throughout the papers; cohesive writing.  We didn't discuss this in period one and five, but in period six the students were impressed that Grant had five additional sources beyond the three I had given everyone while Nuha had ten additional sources.  That represents a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a big reason why they were both able to be so successful with their papers.  

You should be bringing in typed reflections in the next day or two, showing the reflections to me, and then filing the papers.  Remember, if you care to discuss the paper with me further, you are free to do so.  Just have your discussion topics carefully thought through and written down so that you can present the best argument possible.

We've been spending a chunk of time going over agreement errors in your writings.  Ouch!  There are plenty to choose from, but hopefully you are becoming more aware of the issue.  While the errors can be in tense or gender or number, we've seen the errors that we are making most often (since I lift the sentences right from your papers) deal with number and our abilities to select the correct pronouns.  We'll hit it for a couple more days, but you can definitely expect a notebook quiz on this topic in the next week or so.  I'll give you a shout out on the blog so keep it close.

We have dived head first into our book group presentations.  Methods of presentation are being locked down and topics of discussion are being identified and supported.  As a reminder you need to see how the authors used fantasy to make statements about humanity and society.  Thus, when looking for ideas, you need to start with the fantastical elements of your stories.  Then try to decide what the author could be saying about society through his use of those fantastical elements.  We'll be doing those presentations next week. It'll be the only homework you have from me over the next few days, so hit it hard.

"Harrison Bergeron" that wacky, unique, confusing, stimulating story definitely had us talking on Tuesday.  Plenty of likes.  Plenty of dislikes.  Plenty of questions.  We'll be revisiting it tomorrow for at least half the class.  In addition to addressing some of those questions, I'll be asking you to think about Harrison himself and these two questions.

What did Harrison hope to accomplish by rebelling?
Was Harrison successful?

As always, I'll be looking for you to support your thinking with evidence from the text.  Can't wait to hear what you have to say.  I'll sign your Archer card if you identify my agreement error in the writing above.  Have it written down.  See you tomorrow.

Enriched 10-18-2012

Acuity testing tomorrow.  Be ready for that.  A couple more Acuity-At-Home tests would be good to take.  Do your best.  It's for a grade.

Just hit a rough spot in the papers.  But now I'm moving to period five where hopefully things will be on the upswing again.  Nevertheless, I'd like to commend Spencer Kilmer and Peter Rutkowski for the fine work they did on their papers.  Insightful.  Developed.  Detailed.  Informative.  Fun to read.  Well done, men.

At this point I'll keep "Harrison Bergeron" for next week.  Good story.  Can't wait to share it with you.

Remember your final book group discussions will be Monday.  See you tomorrow.

 

Standard 10-18-2012

Our discussion today in class about the Poem-Picture Papers was kind of bumpy in period three but a bit stronger in period four.  Jasmine Leininger shared a pretty well written paragraph for us.  She offered several quotes from her poem and discussed their relevance to the mood.  That's good; however, she still needs to work on the flow of the ideas and could add more voice to the paragraph as well.  First things first, however. 

Below is the third paragraph of my paper.  I discuss the picture and its connection to the mood of the poem.  Obviously, I can't cite anything or offer quotes from the picture, but I can (and must) offer specific details about it.  Notice how I also connect it to the poem on four different occassions. 

Tony Shi's painting somehow seems to capture that exact same energy.  Just as the sound of the drums grab us at the start of Sandburg's poem, the colors do the same in Shi's painting. Meant to depict the lights of Times Square, the bright blues, radiant reds and seemingly flashing yellows have our eyes darting all over the image.  Although it is a still shot of a moment in time, the ripple of colors seem to be pulsating and moving.  The lights are calling to the viewer saying, "Come party here!"  There are no car chases in this scene like in Sandburg's piece; however, Shi's decision to paint slick roads with moving cars keeps the energy level high. He even paints one car as a blur due to its fast pace.  Finally, he paints the buildings leaning at odd angles, perhaps ready to collapse.  They use their stength, their energy, to remain upright.   On last look the allure of the lights and the untamed energy can not be denied.  Like Sandburg with words, Shi has has used paint to create an energetic mood.

Five times.  That's how many times I used a form of the word "energy" in that last paragraph.  That doesn't include all my subtle references to it.  I need to do that because I am arguing that the piece has an energetic mood.  Do the same in your writing. 

Put the last three blogs together and you have the first half of the paper.  We need to talk about the theme as well, but those paragraphs will be written in a simialr fashion to the mood paragraphs.  My next focus will probably be the conclusion.  That's a quick thing to write once you get the hang of it. 

Acuity testing (for a grade) tomorrow.  Be ready to do your best. 

Enriched 10-17-2012

Ah, well, it might have been a bit tedious, but it's an important step on your way to becoming a better student.  Yes, I'm talking about all that student-led conference stuff we did today.  Next week when you discuss all the information and those reflections with Mom and Dad or your guardians, you'll get a better understanding as to who you are as a student.

We discussed the reasons why O'Connell's views were more valid than Gibson's views today in periods five and six, and...well...let's just say we weren't drowning in insight.  I'll give the edge to period five as far as the discussion went.  The discussion group was also peppered with questions more consistently by the audience in period five.  Period one, you will get your chance tomorrow morning, but regardless,  this is a concept we need to revisit, and don't worry, we will.  

I'll reiterate that we did not read those drone articles just to make you aware of drones.  We used them as a tool to discuss different ways writers present their ideas as well as ways to examine themes, support, bias, and balance.  I have a couple Lance Armstrong articles I'm holding back.  We might need to examine those soon, too.  And then there's the potential of a writing assignment in there.  Something like you finding three articles written on the same topic: one balanced, two biased, you discuss the presentation techniques.  Hmmm...could be interesting.

Tomorrow we need to visit the future with the help of Kurt Vonnegut ( I loved him when I was your age!).  He'll introduce us to a young man named Harrison Bergeron.  Harrison is a teenager with problems that are beyond anything you deal with on a daily basis.  Trust me.

We'll hit the Book Fair tomorrow, too, and give Acuity one more look.

Papers are coming along, slowly but surely.  Almost finished with period one.  I'll be starting period five tomorrow.  Period six, over the weekend.  Look for scores on HAC in the next few days.

Standard 10-17-2012

I'm sure we all had fun organizing our student-led conference information.  You are now mostly prepared to enlighten your parents next week on how you are progressing in your eighth grade year.  I'm looking forward to meeting them all.

We finished our book group discussions today, but our work with the books is far from over.   Be sure to bring them tomorrow in case we have time to delve into your book group assignment!

Tomorrow's focus will be mostly on the paper.  You should all have a rough draft-a clean, updated version of the dog draft you brought in on Monday.  Check out yesterday's blog for intro tips and look below for a sample body paragraph on a discussion of mood in "Jazz Fantasia".

Remember, this is the last sentence from my introduction (also known as my claim).

As a matter of fact, the poem "Jazz Fantasia" by Carl Sandburg and the painting "Ultimate Times Square" by Tony Shi share the same energetic mood and a theme that reveals there is magic in the chaos. 

Now here is my first body paragraph.

From the opening line of his celebration of jazz music, Sandburg gets our blood pumping by exhorting us to "drum on [our} drums, batter on [our] banjoes" (Sandburg 1).  The pulsating sound of the percussion exudes energy and soon we are "slinging [our] knuckles on the bottom of the happy tin pans" (Sandburg 4).  As readers, we are filled with a buoyant zest for life.   There's a bounce to our step, yet Sandburg isn't finished.  He ratchets up the intensity by adding a "racing car slipping away from a motorcycle cop" (Sandburg 9).  Soon there's a "fight on the top of a stairway" (Sandburg 11).  Car chases?  Fights?  The energy is over the top!  But just when it seems we can take no more, Sandburg decides to "Can the rough stuff" (Sandburg 14) allowing us to catch our breath from the energetic escapade he just took us on.  

See how I offer multiple quotes from throughout the entire poem to support my topic sentence.  I don't just list the quotes but talk about them as well.  That is what I want you to do.

Now here's my transitional topic sentence for the next paragraph.

Tony Shi's painting somehow seems to capture that exact same energy.  

Do your best tonight.  We'll take a close look at what you have tomorrow.

Standard 10-16-2012

Great conversation about leads today.  I think you all left with a great understanding on what you need to do to start out your papers with a bang.  Thanks for sharing, everyone.  By the way, here is a sample intro I put together for you.

Lights flashing.  Music thumping.  People dancing.  There's always a lot of energy at a rock concert.  It's a fun, chaotic place to be and a difficult place to leave without feeling energized.  Surprisingly, that same energy can also be found in Carl Sandburg poetry and Tony Shi paintings.  These two artists create  works that get the blood pumping.  As a matter of fact, the poem "Jazz Fantasia" by Carl Sandburg and the painting "Ultimate Times Square" by Tony Shi share the same energetic mood and a theme that reveals there is magic in the chaos. 

You see the way I open with broad lead.  I'm talking about a rock concert, not a poem or a painting.  In five quick sentences, I've hooked your interest.

Lights flashing.  Music thumping.  People dancing.  There's always a lot of energy at a rock concert.  It's a fun, chaotic place to be and a difficult place to leave without feeling energized.

I then need to transition from that broad lead to the claim.  I use the transitional word "surprisingly", bring in both Sandburg and Shi, and get closer to my claim.

Surprisingly, that same energy can also be found in Carl Sandburg poetry and Tony Shi paintings.  These two artists create  works that get the blood pumping. 

Finally, I offer my claim.

As a matter of fact, the poem "Jazz Fantasia" by Carl Sandburg and the painting "Ultimate Times Square" by Tony Shi share the same energetic mood and a theme that reveals there is magic in the chaos. 

Yes, it's just that simple.

Intros are taken care of, but now it's time to move on to the body paragraphs.  Be sure you have topic sentences for each one.  And any paragraph beyond the second one should have a transitional topic sentence.  Click here for a list of transitional words you might use.

Be sure you are doing the following in your paragraphs.

Are you using quotes from your poem?

Are you citing your sources correctly?       Remember   "...your eyes" (O'Malley 5-6).

Are you describing your picture well?

Are you comparing how the poem and picture share the same mood?

Are you comparing how the poem and picture share the same theme?

On Thursday, your next typed rough draft should be brought to class.  That's the next day we will be doing some editing.  Be ready to really work on improving that paper.

Tomorrow we will have our final book group discussions.  Your books should be read and you will receive your final check plus/check/check minus.  Hopefully all goes well for you there.

We'll also spend a few minutes watching a video on the Book Fair, attending the Book Fair, and sharpening our Acuity knowledge.

See you tomorrow.

Enriched 10-16-2012

I trust you had successful discussions about your books today.  One more meeting before working on your group projects.  Be thinking about the assignment.

It's another packed day tomorrow and once again it appears that period one will get the short end of the stick.  Tomorrow we get to work on our Student Lead Conference packets during period one in preparation for next week's meetings.   It seems every time period one is about to catch up with periods five and six, something else comes up.

Anyway, if we finish the SLC material early enough, we will be watching a short video on the Book Fair and then spending a snippet of time perusing the aisles.  We want to hit up a bit of Acuity in preparation for our testing Friday.  We need to complete our O'Connell vs. Gibson analysis, and then I'd like to introduce you to your next story.

I'm off to grade.  Wish me luck.  What am I saying?  I'm sure your papers are so good that luck will be superfluous.  Okay, Archer card signature for a definition of that one.

Standard 10-15-2012

We got a good start on our Poem Picture Papers today, but there is plenty more to do.  Seems like one thing we need to focus on is our broad lead.  Several of you were just starting with the claim and using that as the entire introduction.  Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!  Can't do that!  We'll listen to some good leads tomorrow and try our hands at writing our own. 

We'll also spend time focusing on topic sentences.  Each paragraph has to have one.  We'll share another piece or two on the Elmo, have an author's chair or two, and have a little Q and A as well.   

Let's thank Claire Jurkovic and Savannah Scott for sharing their pieces with the classes today.  It's a brave thing to do, but it'll help them and the rest of you no matter what.

Make sure you're doing some Acuity-At-Home. 

Tomorrow we'll work on a bit of Acuity then focus on our papers.  They will be the best papers you've written if you pay attention and try your best.

Enriched 10-15-2012

I have assessed the first eight papers (all from period one), and I will simply say that I am cautiously optimistic at this point.  I will resist any temptations for excessive displays of exuberance and calmly say that the papers have been solid so far.  Hopefully, the quality will continue with a slight upward trend. 

I am late tonight on the blog and on the Acuity-At-Home additions because the computers have been a treasured commodity at the O'Malley household this evening.  Seems there are a lot of papers being assigned.  So, I apologize for the lateness of both this entry and the Acuity work.

Tomorrow you will be in your penultimate book group discussions.  We will then take a closer look at the piece on O'Connell that Riley Smith brought in.  (Thanks, Riley!)  I uncovered five different ways that hee views come across as more reliable and valid than Gibson's views.  How many will you find?

Then we will be starting in a new direction tomorrow.  Who knows what we'll be reading next?!?

Tomorrow's schedule: Acuity, book groups, O'Connell piece, our new direction.   See ya!

Standard 10-14-2012

Mood!  Theme!  Poems!  Pictures!  You are undoubtedly busy this weekend trying to piece all of these disparate ideas together into one cohesive essay.  But don't stress over it.  Remember this is a dog draft (a rough, rough draft).  I want you to have complete papers, but I want you to realize that you are going to be changing things along the way.

For the paper tomorrow, you should still have an introduction.  The intro should contain a broad lead, and a strong claim.  As we discussed in class, the claim should read something like this:

The poem "Jazz Fantasia" by Carl Sandburg and the painting "Ultimate Times Square" by Tony Shi share the same energetic mood and a theme that reveals that there is magic in the chaos.

That's a specific claim.  Here's one where you can fill in the blanks.

The poem _________ by_________ and the (painting/drawing/photo/picture) ___________ by ________ share the same _________ mood and a theme that reveals ____________.

That's a pretty big part of the paper.  As you know, the claim should be the last sentence of the first paragraph.  After that, you'll need to decide how you are going to structure the paper.  If it was up to me, I would be writing about the mood of the poem and then comparing the mood of the painting to it.  I would then discuss the theme of the poem and compare it to the theme of the painting.  In all four parts of the body paragraphs, I would be sure to have plenty of quotes (poem) and specific references (painting) to support my ideas.

Finally we have the conclusion.  Remind us what you developed in your body paragraphs and then close the paper by returning to the idea you began your paper with.

When we get together tomorrow, we'll spend some time reading over the essays, but we will also dissect one or two on the big screen and have some volunteers share parts of their papers in an Author's Chair segment.  Should be a good, useful day!  See you then.

Enriched 10-14-2012

So I left you all with a bit of a teaser at the end of class last Friday.  We had discussed the original "Drone Dilemma" article by Michael Crowley after which we were not overwhelmingly in favor of or against the use of drones.  However, once I shared the "What it Means to be Living Under Drones" article by Jennifer Gibson, a decidedly one-sided article railing against the use of drones, (take note of that noun phrase I just used as an appositive) we did see a negative view of drones swallow up our perspectives.

That was a reasonable reaction.  Gibson emphasized those negative aspects pretty hard and was  unflinching in her presentation.  When such a one-sided piece is shared, it gives us all pause to question what we initially believed.

Some of you, like Mike Knutson, questioned that one-sided approach.  He called it a biased piece of writing.  But it's important to realize that Gibson's methods are commonly used.  Any writer or commentator might ask him or herself, "Why should I offer a balanced piece of writing when I want you to believe what I believe?"  It's a fair question, especially when many of us are willing to believe the first thing we hear.

That puts a heavy responsibility on the reader.  We need to be aware when we are reading a biased article.  If not, our views and opinions could be erroneously shaped before we are fully educated on the topic.

Whenever I read an argumentative article, one of the first things I do is check to see who the writer is.  What connection does the writer have to the topic?  What does he or she stand to gain from me siding one way or another on the topic?  Also, how does the author structure the article?  Are both sides shared equally and fairly or is there a disproportionate amount of time and energy getting me to feel one way while the other side is addressed but trivialized and offered only cursory development?  I also examine what facts, figures, and evidence are offered.  Are the numbers legitimate?  Are the quotes from knowledgeable, respectable individuals?  What all this adds up to is the importance of being an active reader.  If I don't take responsibility for how I read, I'll be only half informed and be caught off guard when asked to defend my opinions.

So as I said at the beginning with my teaser comment, I did hold back one piece of information.  This one piece of info might allow you to, again, reconsider your stance.  The information is right on the paper.  If you come up to me and tell me what that important piece of info is before class tomorrow, I will sign your Archer card.

And now, on to the C.A.P. paper.  You will give it to me tomorrow.  I will actually be using the checklist from Thursday's blog to assess the papers.  Once again, if you can honestly check off those items, then you should be doing pretty well.  I'm looking forward to seeing what you've developed.

I'm checking Acuity-At-Home today.  Hopefully, you've been on there in the last seven days.

Tomorrow holds a bit of Acuity, collection of the papers, some drone discussion, the power of word choice, and a new story for us to examine.  Oh, and your next little ten point assignment.  See you then.

Standard 10-11-12

Book group discussions tomorrow.  After this, we will have only one more left.  Seems like we just started.  Be prepared for tomorrow.  Make it the first day that everyone in your class earns a check plus.  I'd love to sign everyone's Archer card.  Also, start thinking about the end of the book project.  What will you be doing?

Tomorrow you should all come with the poem you are going to use for your P. P. P., the mood and the theme of the poem identified, and a picture or at least plans for a picture.  Remember not to be thinking literally.  Make a connection between the poem and the picture on a more symbolic/figurative level.  You will start writing tomorrow as well.

I'm off to check Acuity-At-Home now.   I hope you've visited in the last seven days!

Enriched 10-11-12

10-11-12...What a fun date today!  And were bound to have a fun day tomorrow.  The drones will be returning.  You'll have a chance to shoot them down or  argue for their continued use.  And then just when you think you've decided, I'm going to give you a second article to consider...

In addition we'll look at what the author did to present his arguments and what his purpose was.  Not so fast.  It might not be as obvious as you think.

You'll end by writing a paragraph defending your point of view on the article.  All this, and a little Tool Time, in 55 minutes.  I can't wait!

All three classes decided to have two more meetings for their book group discussions.  Those meeting days will be Tuesday, October 16 and Friday, October 19.  After that, you will be working with your group on the project identified on the bottom of your original hand-out.  Start thinking about your book and what it is saying about humanity.

Those C. A. P. papers will be coming in on Monday.  If you worked hard on the scaffolding assignments, read the works carefully, listened in class and took notes, took the paper through multiple drafts, had it edited early and often, and then paid close attention yesterday as we read through and discussed Ryan Klinedinst's excellent paper, you should be set.  Just to make sure, check out this handy checklist I've made up just for you.

_____     Proper heading
_____     Creative, fitting title

INTRODUCTION

_____     Opens with an engaging lead
_____     Clearly mentions the selected individual
_____     Clearly mentions the three authors and their works
_____     Closes with a clear, complete claim expressing authors' support for the individual

BODY PARAGRAPHS

_____     Each body paragraph begins with a topic sentence (a transitional topic sentence when    
               appropriate)

_____     The authors' beliefs on humanity (based on the short stories/poem) are thoroughly developed,
               supported, and cited


_____     Those beliefs are then well used to explain why the authors would support the individual    
               selected
_____     The individuals actions are thoroughly developed, supported, and cited

_____     Quotes, facts, figures, numbers, any researched information included in the paper are cited
               correctly

_____     Each paragraph emphasizes the connection between an author's beliefs and the individual's
               actions

_____     Each paragraph is closed effectively, emphasizing the connection between author and
               individual

CONCLUSION

_____     Restates the claim (same idea; different phrasing)
_____     Summarizes the main ideas of the paper
_____     Closes with a bang!

WORKS CITED

_____     ABC order
_____     Reverse indentation of lines two and beyond of each citation
_____     Proper citations based on information found on the OWL

COUPLE EXTRAS

_____    Unique, passionate voice
_____    Creative word choice

If you use this checklist.  If you use it honestly.  If you honestly tell yourself that you have successfully completed everything listed above.  If you correct anything that you can not check.  You should be able to hand this paper to me on Monday and say confidently--with a smile--"Here's my "A" paper Mr. O'Malley."

May the A be with you.

I'm off to check Acuity-At-Home.  Hopefully you've worked on it in the last seven days.

Standard 10-09-2012

Please be prepared to discuss your book with your book groups tomorrow.  The possibility of an Archer card signature if all receive check plusses remains.

You should also have located your poem and image for tomorrow's class.  We will begin writing the analyses tomorrow.

Enriched 10-09-2012

Please be prepared to discuss your books with your group members tomorrow.  Remember that we will have two meetings after tomorrow: one will be Friday. October 12; one will be Wednesday, October 17.

We will be abandoning the short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas".  A new story will be started tomorrow.  I apologize for any inconvenience.

Period One Enriched 10-9-2012

Students in period one do not need to read "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas".  We will be reading something else starting tomorrow,

Standard 10-08-2012

I trust you are all looking for the poem you'll start writing about on Wednesday.  After you find it, try to figure out the mood and theme so that you can find an image that corresponds with the poem.  The closer the fit, the easier it will be to write the Poem Picture Paper, henceforth called the P.P.P.

Lots of grading tonight so that's all I have.  Okay, one more thing, find an appositive in your book group book and show it to me tomorrow, and I will sign your Archer card tomorrow.

Enriched 10-08-2012

         Allie Mason just rocked my world!

I've read six papers from period five, and Allie just nailed her submission!  Super development of the authors' views, strong connections to her selected individual Taylor Swift, detailed, cited, supporting quotes and several superbly crafted lines.  I might even become a Taylor Swift fan after reading her paper.  Can you hear me singing...

"Weeeee, are never, ever, ever, getting back together."

I'll tell you one thing...

"Iiiiiiii, am looking, looking, looking forward to more of Allie's writing."

Anyway, need to make this quick.  Still four more papers to go tonight and a few other things to take care of.

Most important for periods five and six is the need to actively read and annotate and mark-up and text code the story "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas".  Most of class tomorrow will be spent on that short, enigmatic story.  (Archer card signature if you tell me what enigmatic means tomorrow).  Do your best to try and figure out what LeGuin was trying to do with the story.

Period One?  What's going on?  I missed Thursday and Friday last week and tomorrow twenty of you are walking out on me.  Have fun reading to the Horizon kids, but I'll miss you.  (By the way, I don't even have Neal Nidea, but I have to give him a HOORAH! for the story he wrote for Mrs. Crawford.  It almost made me cry!  You all have to read it.  Great effort!)  Anyway, Period One, don't forget that the paper is still due tomorrow.  I'll expect you to drop it off before heading across the parking lot.  I'll also have to give you the story I mentioned above to read on your own.  Please remember to pick it up and have it actively read for Wednesday.

Now, I'm off to find the next great paper.  See all of you tomorrow in one way or another.

Standard 10-07-2012

Been a busy weekend for me as I've examined both your small group pictorial/poem essays and your individual timed mood writing pieces.  We'll be looking at both tomorrow, or I should say you will be taking a closer look at both of them tomorrow.  We need to be sure we understand how to write these essays since you are about to write one on your own.

Let me take a quick moment to give a Hoorah! to Michelle Allen and Sabrina Brown, two individuals
who demonstrated some writing chops (that means they did a good job) on at least one of the two writings.

With that in mind we'll tackle a few obvious ideas:

how to open a paper (the lead)
importance of title and author
how to punctuate the title of a book (always underline or italicize)
importance of a claim
how to cite quotes taken from a book (you'll be taking notes on this, but here's a hint
          (author's last name followed by the page number the quote was taken from).
           (Dessen 56).

You'll be heading out on your own now.  You will need to find a poem and then identify a picture with a similar theme and mood.  You'll then be writing about the connections.  I'll have a hand-out for you tomorrow.

Overall, we'll open up the class with a little Tool Time (let's stick with appositives like the enriched classes).  We'll have a mini-lesson on the above material.  Next, I will pass back your group essays.  You'll be copying down some notes, and coming to some conclusions on the strengths and weaknesses of these essays.  I'll also return the individual mood essays.  We'll need to write reflections on both essays.  Finally, I'll pass out the new writing assignment instructions.  Can't wait!

Enriched 10-07-2012

The minutes are ticking down.  The end is near.  In less than 24 hours (48 for period one) the C.A.P. paper will be out of your hands and in mine awaiting the assessment.  I'll tell you here so you don't have to ask.  Each paper takes about 15-20 minutes to assess and I assess about ten papers a day.  There are 86 of you, so you can be certain you will not be seeing these papers again until sometime next week.  It will be fair to ask about your papers starting next Monday.  Regardless, I am looking forward to seeing what you were able to produce in the last few weeks, over several peer edits and myriad discussions and questions.  Remember, when you turn it in, you need the following:

All rough drafts
The peer edited rough draft and the peer edit sheet all together
The final copy: typed; double spaced; with proper heading; works cited page

That looks to be about right.  Lots of questions on the works cited page this weekend.  Be sure to look on the OWL.  Everything you need is on that page.  Two most important pages are

MLA Works Cited Page: Basic Format
and
MLA In-Text Citations: The Basics

You will be receiving a separate ten point score on the works cited over and above the 100 points for the paper.  Remember, ABC order and proper indentation.  Double check it!

So once the paper comes in, where will we go next?  Great question, Elizabeth!  We are going to take a journey to a completely different kind of place.  A nasty place.  A pleasing place.  A grimy place.  A pristine place.  A vicious, choleric place.  A peaceful, serene place.   Ah, it all depends on one's perspective, doesn't it.  That perspective is something we will explore with a reading we'll start tomorrow from Ursala K. LeGuin called "The Ones Who Walk Away".  We'll read it in class together for basic comprehension and then I'll ask that you check it out again tomorrow night, text-coding as you go, for a deeper, more insightful reading.  We'll talk more about that tomorrow.

Let's see should we or shouldn't we?  Why not?  Let's have a notebook quiz tomorrow over point-of view.  I'll ask you to define first person, third person limited, and third person omniscient, and then you'll need to offer a line or two from your book group text that proves to me which way your book is written.  I'd be looking tonight for my examples and have them marked clearly in my book so I don't have to be looking tomorrow.  As always, this notebook quiz will have a reasonable time constraint.

So let's see, tomorrow we'll have a Tool Time (appositives sound good), I'll collect papers, we'll have a notebook quiz, I'll pass back a couple old things,  share some parallel structure examples and do a reading in class.  Full day again.  See you soon.  

Enriched Period One 10-06-2012

Due to my absence the last two mornings, I am pushing the due date of the C.A.P. paper to Tuesday for my period one class.   Bring questions to class on Monday to be sure we are where we need to be for Tuesday's submission.  Periods five and six will still be due Monday.  

Thanks.

Standard 10-04-2012

Today could have been a very successful day for everyone.  Plenty of time to finish your poem analysis, write the essay with your group, and even have a little time left over to do some reading and prepping for tomorrow.  The possibilities were limitless!

Today could have been a wasted day.  Plenty of time to goof around with your peers, ignore the work that needed to be completed, and then leave yourself a lot of work to complete tonight.  The possibilities were deadly!

Hopefully, you chose option number one.  I will be collecting an essay from every group tomorrow.  You will have no time in class to work on it.  I will be reading those at home this weekend and then I will explain what your next task will be on Monday.

Tomorrow, we have some book group discussions to tackle.  Check plus for everyone=Archer card signature for everyone.  Remember 3-4 sentences per connection and clear passage selection explanations.  After our 20-25 minute discussions, we'll come back to the class and do a little Acuity with figurative language.  We'll also spend some time discussing how the poets wrote about the same thing but managed to do so differently.  Be thinking how "Paradise: Prison" differs from "Robe" which in turn differs from "The Music of the Street" which is extremely different than either "Chicago" or "Poets and Men" yet they all talk about life in the city.  Five good poems.  Lots to discuss.

I love teaching you guys, and from what I can tell, I might actually be in class every day next week.  No meetings on the horizon!  Yippee!

See you tomorrow.  For an Archer card signature, come up to me tomorrow and tell me why we are studying the poems and the pictures.

 

Enriched 10-04-2012

Drones!  Gosh, I wish I had been in the class today.  It would have been so exciting, first, to see what you thought about America's use of drones...Fair?  Just?  Life-saving?  Evil?  Careless?  Impersonal?...second, to see if you could understand how the structure and organization effected your comprehension, and third, to see if you caught any bias by the author, Michael Crowley.

I know, I know, not all of you grasped what exactly drones were.  (Another reason why I wish I had been there).  That's pretty important too.  Without that, the article may not have made as much sense.  Hopefully, you asked and were able to respond to the prompts effectively.

Time permitting tomorrow, we will spend a bit of time discussing your experience.  You should have all the responses completed for class.  Here are the prompts one more time...just in case.

1) Identify the evidence the author gives that supports the drone program.

2) Identify the evidence the author gives that questions the drone program.

3) Based on the information you uncovered in the article, which side has a stronger case?  Why?  Support your response.

4) Based on the information you uncovered in the article, which side do you believe the author supports?  Why?  Support your response.

5) Now I want you to analyze how the author structures and organizes this piece of writing.  

First, identify his organizational method.  Back it up with support.  

Second, explain how this structure and organization aids in your comprehension of the writing.  (Sound familiar?)  Be sure you explain your self thoroughly. 

When you have completed the five prompts, write a final independent quick write.  Discuss the following two things.  

First, how was your definition of a fair war altered after reading this article?  Explain.

Second, what was the purpose of the article?  Was it successful?  Explain.

I say time permitting because tomorrow's class is pretty full already.  We'll open up with our group discussions.  We'll try and limit them to 20 minutes tomorrow.  We'll follow that up with some final peer editing; make sure you have a clean copy of your C.A.P. paper in class.  I also want to make sure I give credit to the peer editors.  We did pretty well in period five but need to catch up in periods one and six.  We'll try to have an author's chair or two.  We can talk about the parallel structure examples, Acuity questions, and those drone responses.  Oh, and by the way, we only have 55 minutes tomorrow due to Friday Reads.  Please bring back block scheduling!

A word on those parallel structure examples.  I looked at only a couple after the cross country meet tonight and I was, let's say, uninspired.  I saw some completed in pencil (unacceptable); I saw some with cursory explanations (look it up if you don't understand it; I'll sign your Archer card if you tell me what it means); I saw one that looked like it was run over by a bus (Are you kidding me?  Have a little pride!).  As usual my expectations are sky high for this assignment.  Reach for your best or you'll be playing catch up all year.  

As the great Rev. Randall R. Mc Bride Jr. once said, "Success will not lower its standard to us. We must raise our standard to meet success."

Love that quote.  

Sleep well.  The weekend is less than 20 hours away.

Standard 10-03-2012

"Detroit...your name still carries with it the idea of a nation built on steel, muscle and sweat."

Eminem

You are reading a lot about Detroit.  You saw the pictures and have read five poems that could easily relate to the city.  Now you are writing an essay, with the help of a partner or two, about the connection between one of those poems and the pictorial essay.  You'll be doing this same thing on your own in the near future.  Be ready for it.

Some good book discussions.  Several people came super prepared to discuss.  William Martin, Emily Swaim, Jasmine Leininger, Ben Rose, Christian Pottschmidt, Alex Zarazee and Rachel Snyder are just a few who shared some high quality work with their groups and me today.  Way to go!  That's all the more reason why we all need to be prepared.  No excuses allowed.  When you aren't prepared you let yourself, your group and me down.

Keep working on that Acuity-At-Home material.  You will be glad you did come October 12.

As I said in class, I won't be there tomorrow, but I will be in the building.  You'll be expected to complete the rest of the pictorial/poem analysis and essay by the end of class tomorrow.  Work hard, fast, efficiently, and well.  I can't wait to see what you create.

Enriched 10-03-2012

No I'm not going to be in class tomorrow--stop cheering Will--but I am going to be in the building.  I expect nothing but your best work and best behavior.  Notice the parallel structure?  Yes, it's just that easy.

Speaking of parallel structure, even in my absence, you will still be submitting the assignment.  The substitute will be collecting them at the start of class tomorrow.  Can't wait to see what you found in your books.

I found a great article that you'll be reading tomorrow about drones.  Actually, I found it over the summer (check the publishing date).  I've been saving it for the right time.  While I wish I was there to go over it with you because I'm really excited about the analysis you'll be making and the discussion you'll be having (more parallel structure!), I think you will still benefit from the approach I'm asking you to take.  It fits right in with dozens of our Common Core State Standards.

Some good book discussions today.  I love how passionate some of you get while you try to explain your point of view.  Let me give a Hoorah! to Kacey Wood, Rachel Minne, Madi Meyer, and Peter Rutkowski for going above and beyond with their preparations for the discussions.  If you get the chance, ask to see the work they did.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  By the way, one tip you could follow is to try and offer a minimum of three to four sentences for your connections.  Too many times I'm reading a sentence that leaves me longing for more detail for clarity.  We didn't all earn the check plusses today, but the offer of an Archer card signature for everyone if we get a class full of check plusses still stands for Friday.  Do your best.

I hate being out of the class but we are making the best of it.  Be sure to bring your C.A.P.P. to class Friday.  In addition to the book group discussions, we will spend a little time talking about the papers, finalizing your works cited, answering any random questions and making sure you are as ready as possible to turn the final copy in Monday.

Enriched and Standard 10-02-2012 PART II

There will be several lunch invites tomorrow.  But today, I'll celebrate the high achievers.  Here's a list of the students who have completed the largest number of tests so far.

Period One          10 Each: Kayla Cole; Steven Null; Peter Rutkowski
Period Three         7 Each: Tyler Davis; Rachel Lee
Period Four         11:          Nicole Knudtson
Period Five           6:          Isabella Gianessi
Period Six             9:          Keegan Hurst

Look at the list...successful students are completing the Acuity-At-Home assignments.

Enriched and Standard 10-02-2012

Just walked in the door from a late night soccer game.  (Penn won 10-0!) No blog tonight other than just to remind you that tomorrow is reading group day.  Make sure you've read and prepared for your group discussions.  I'm going to check Acuity-At-Home right now and start writing out lunch invitations.  Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!  Archer card signatures for all who've passed an Acuity test in October.

Enriched 10-01-2012

October has arrived!  But that means that the end of the first quarter is not far behind, so it's time to kick it into high gear.  Papers should be insightful and rich with analysis.  Readings should be thoroughly examined for meaning.  Notebook quizzes should be aced.  By the way, you'll have one tomorrow (yes, two days in a row) over the proper way to internally cite the following quote from World War Z:

Quote:  "There was this one guy on rollerblades.  He had a hockey stick in his hand, a big 'ole meat    
             cleaver bolted to the blade."

Page: 86

Author: Max Brooks

Good: luck

After a little Tool Time on parallel structure, we'll shift to our notebook quiz, follow that up with a peer edit of our C.A.P. papers and save time for an author's chair or two.  Be ready to share.

I'll close with a HOORAH! for Julia Kwak, Logan McGuire, Vishal Patel, Kacey Wood, Thatcher Boyd, Conrad Atkins, Grant Brenner, Michael Knutson, Daniel Yu, and Nuha Zackariya for acing the notebook quiz today.  10 out of 86.  Not that great.  What do you have to do to get your name on this list?



 

Standard 10-01-2012

Happy October!  I love fall; don't you?  The weather is a little cooler, the leaves are changing colors, and it's football season.  It's the time of year when a person starts to think about...poetry.  Well, then I guess it's a good thing that we spent today and will spend tomorrow analyzing poetry.

We were a little slow out of the gate on that analysis.  We need to look at the poems and come up with four lines from the poem that really establish mood.  Use your notes in the language arts notebooks to remind yourself how authors create mood.  Try to look at the poem as a whole as well, instead of taking a line or two out of context.  Then use those mood ideas to help you arrive at a theme for the poem.  Remember what a theme is by reviewing those notes.  As a matter of fact, since I keep saying review those notes, I'm going to give you a notebook quiz tomorrow on mood and theme.  You'll have to tell me the four ways an author creates mood in a piece of writing.  We discussed these in class.   You took notes on them.  Look them up right now!  Don't wait.  While you're at it, I'm also going to want you to tell me the three main ideas that help us understand theme.  They are in your notes as well.  Better go look those up, too.  And remember them!

After you analyze the five poems, your group is going to select which poem best fits the pictorial essay on Detroit.  You will then write a thorough explanation defending your selection backing it up with evidence from the pictures and the poems.  Be thorough and complete.

Keep reading for Wednesday's group meeting.  Remember, if you all earn a check plus, you will all get an Archer card signature.

That will keep us busy for tomorrow, but I'll find time to toss in a little simile/metaphor review as well.  See you later.